Gray Lensman (Lensman Series #4) [Mass Market Paperback]

E. E. "Doc" Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1982

Space Duel to the Death. Somewhere among the galaxies was the stronghold of Boskone - a network of brilliant interplanetary criminals whose mania for conquest threatened the future o all civilization. But Where? Boskanian bases dotted the universe - shielded by gigantic thought-screens that defied penetration. It was up to Lensman Kim Kinnison, using his fantastic mental powers, to infiltrate the Boskonian strongholds and learn the location of the enemy's Grand Base - and smash it forever! --- from book's back cover

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 253 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (July 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425054608
• ISBN-13: 978-0425054604
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,519,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars After Galactic Patrol, you wonder, "How can it get better?", March 27, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Corona, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gray Lensman (The Lensman Series, Book 4) (Paperback)

It does. Kim Kinnison gets his "Grays". The uniform color of an "Unattached", Gray Lensman. A Gray Lensman is beholden to no one. Wherever he goes, he is Judge, Jury and Executioner. At a whim he can call on the mighty forces of the Galactic Patrol to assist him. But sheer power alone is not enough to vanquish Boskone. It requires detective work, undercover spy work, scientific improvements and determination. Doc Smith bests himself with Gray Lensman. I have to give this book, along with Galactic Patrol and Second Stage Lensman an 11 because I've never read any as good. I have to reread these periodically to recharge my faith in Science Fiction. In this book you meet Wild Bill Williams, Meteor Miner, A Kim Kinnison undercover identity whose persona has formed the backbone of many sci fi novels that followed. Doc Smith tells a straight, action packed story with lots of intellectual contents but not in a soppy, sentimental tone. His heros know what is right and act on without questions. Don't look for much love and sex in Doc Smith books. Most romantic encounters are stated something like this, "They were young, they were together, and what follows is left as an exercise for the reader".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Saga Continues..., April 28, 2005

By 

Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Gray Lensman (The Lensman Series, Book 4) (Paperback)

"Gray Lensman" is the fourth book in the Lensman series and it picks up right where "Galactic Patrol left off. As with the previous book, this is the collection of material that was previously published in "Astounding Science Fiction" from October of 1939 through January 1940. The book was first published in 1951, and was ranked 13th on the 1952 Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll. The series as a whole was nominated for the Hugo for best all-time series in 1966.

In this book, Kimball Kinnison searches for traces of Boskone after the destruction of their base in our Galaxy. The search takes him to the Second Galaxy where he stops the Boskonians from destroying the Medonians. He also searches out remnants of Boskone within our own Galaxy, and he continues to learn how to better use the Lens. The book leads up to a climactic battle against the Boskonians in the Second Galaxy.

As with the previous books in the series, the science is the weakest part of the story. Despite this, it is still worth reading for the characters and fast paced storyline. This is a great example of Space Opera from the golden age of science fiction.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GALACTIC JAMES BOND, January 31, 2002

By 

Worldreels (MANKATO, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gray Lensman (The Lensman Series, Book 4) (Paperback)

Kim Kinnison is Doc Smith's James Bond. What fun the author must have had putting this one to ink. Wouldn't bond have enjoyed using a negasphere, black hole-like wave of hyperspace, to destroy one bad guy planet? The next bad guy hideout planet squashed like a walnut between two colliding planets. What a gas! Your hero loses both hands and feet but not to worry. Brilliant geneticists discover how to excite the dormant pineal gland. Soon all body parts are regenerated (like a starfish grows new points) and the hero is good as new. Just in time to let him marry his beautiful, red headed nurse. Hollywood, here comes Kim Kinnison!